Rythna - Science Is Magic
by TheRedDragoness
Summary: Rythian is back, and the first person who crosses paths with him is Lalna. Guess what happens? Yaoi, don't like don't read.


Lalna sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. Another day of mining had come to an end, but, unlike the last few, had actually produced something useful: obsidian. The scientist was planning on building a portal to the Nether so he could get some glowstone for his latest project. He was going to make an underground passageway leading far out to the plains of desert, and it was to be lined with glowstone for two reasons: one, that it stopped it from getting too dark, and two, that it made it look nice. He chuckled to himself as he imagined it.

He picked up his rucksack and set off back the way he came, stifling a yawn as he collected the crafting table he had set down further back. It wasn't long before he heard a strange sound, like a warped voice speaking one low note. Endermen? Lalna's heart began to race. If there were Endermen around here he'd have to be careful. The passage wasn't wide enough for two, and he really didn't want to get killed out here. Sure, he could respawn, but it was still inconvenient...

He caught a glimpse of a tall figure up ahead with glowing purple eyes. He drew his sword cautiously and crept forwards.

'I-I know you probably won't understand this,' he called, not looking into the eyes, 'but I don't want any trouble. Please - please just move... I don't want to kill you.' His mouth was dry.

The figure simply stared, raising its head. 'Then I will go,' came the reply. 'But don't worry; I'm not finished with you yet!'

Lalna stood in shock as the figure disappeared in a mist of purple smoke. Was it...? No. It couldn't be. It had to be an Enderman, he was sure of it. _But they don't talk..._

Even in his feeble attempts to deny it, deep down he knew.

This was no Enderman.

This was Rythian.

'No, wait!' Lalna shouted down the tunnel, running to catch up. All he could see was a faint trace of purple mist where the mage, his one-time friend, had stood. And now he'd lost his only chance to talk to Rythian. Sinking against the wall, he held his head in his hands. 'Stupid, STUPID!' But-

I'm not finished with you yet.

The words rang through his mind like a crystal struck by metal. He hadn't lost his chance. He could still speak to him, make up to him. He laughed. 'Of course, I can go home and he'll turn up there. How did I forget?' He stood up and turned to go, but something blocked him from going any further. 'Huh?!' He stepped back, looking up at the person - for it wasn't a thing - and into his eyes. Purple eyes, above a masked nose and mouth. He made out a faint smile, somewhere in those eyes.

'It's bad to talk to yourself,' Rythian stated, trying to hold back a grin.

'Rythian!' Lalna leapt forward and hugged his friend, taking the mage by surprise. Rythian pushed him back slightly.

'Personal space, my friend,' he laughed, keeping his hand on the scientist's shoulders.

'Sorry,' Lalna apologised, smiling. He gazed into Rythian's eyes. 'I missed you, Rythian. I mean, really, _really_ missed you. I-I... I'm sorry I was such an ass...'

'Shush, it wasn't all your fault, Lalna,' Rythian sighed. 'I guess... I judged you because I knew you were 'in' with Sjin and Sips. I knew you guys were friends and I... I thought you were like them.'

'They told me stuff about you. I knew it couldn't be true, but still...'

'Well, it's all in the past now, isn't it?' Rythian closed the subject.

'...And that's how I got into Honeydew Inc. We're SUPPOSED to be making Jaffa Cakes, but... well, we haven't made much progress on that, to be honest. And I have a castle too, where I do stuff.'

'Hmm, well, you've certainly been busy.'

'Yeah.'

The two paused and a silence came between them. They were walking back to Lalna's castle and had almost reached it by now.

'Look, there's the castle up ahead.'

It was well-lit, torches illuminating it.

'C'mon, we need to go - I see some skeletons up ahead...' Lalna quickened his pace, hoping they wouldn't be ambushed.

Hoping they'd make it home.

'In here!' Lalna hissed, shoving Rythian into a small alcove. Two skeletons were up ahead, and had almost spotted them. Lalna wasn't taking that chance.

The shove had taken Rythian by surprise and he had fallen over backwards onto the ground. Lalna quickly filled the hole in the wall with dirt and put up some torches. 'So-' he began, only to be cut short as he turned, tripped over Rythian, and landed on top of him. 'Oh... uhm...' His face turned a deep shade of red. 'S-sorry...'

Rythian smirked at Lalna's feeble attempts to get off him quickly without having to lean on the mage. 'Someone embarrassed?' he grinned.

'Shut up, Rythian,' the scientist muttered, still struggling to get up. He finally succeeded and moved to the other end of the hole, not making eye contact with Rythian at all. He sagged back against the wall. 'I guess we'd better wait til morning... ugh. I'm bored already just _thinking_ about it...' He stared at the ceiling, biting his lip.

'Y'know, you're cute when you do that,' Rythian teased.

'Dammit, Rythian, what're you trying to do to my mind?!' Lalna yelped, glaring at his friend.

'Don't lie, Lalna, I know what you're thinking. You like me. You want me. You're _obsessed_.' Rythian leaned towards the ever-reddening Lalna, grinning wildly.

Lalna gulped; this would be harder than he thought. 'You're wrong, Rythian. You know nothing - NOTHING!' he growled.

Rythian shook his head and smiled, removing the mask from his face. 'Sure. Wow, it's good to breathe again. This mask can be a pain, you know...'

'Then why do you wear it?'

Rythian looked Lalna in the eyes. 'I have to.'

'But-'

'It's... this...' He tilted his head back, and, sure enough, there was a black mark spreading from below his scarf, where the mask joined onto it. The mark ended below his jaw. It was definitely proof that he was an Enderhuman - not that it was needed.

'Hang on...' Lalna moved forwards. 'I can't see it properly.' With a slightly unsteady hand he raised Rythian's head further and pretended to look at the mark. What he was really doing was checking him out. Of course, it was obvious enough that the mage knew what his friend was doing. Lalna guessed that would be the case.

And then Rythian kissed him.

Lalna's stomach flipped and he pulled back, eyes wide and panting heavily. 'R-Rythian?'

Rythian smirked at him. 'C'mon, you know you enjoyed that. Besides,' he grinned, 'how else do we keep ourselves amused until morning?'

Lalna swept a hand through his hair. 'No... No, you've got it all... no. Look, I can't do this...' He got up and dug his way out of the hole, disregarding the skeletons and zombies out there in the night.

'Lal- oh, never mind,' Rythian huffed, shaking his head. His friend was just shocked, that's all. He'd be back.

Meanwhile, Lalna had almost reached his castle. He'd walked fast, almost at a sprint, and his chest hurt. Maybe if he sat down... just for a minute...

'Is he alright?'

'Is he _dead_?'

'Don't be silly, Honeydew, he's fine.'

'Oh hey, he's waking up.'

Lalna awoke to find the faces of Sips, Sjin, Honeydew, Xephos, and... Rythian ...staring down at him.

'Hello sweet pea,' Sips smirked.

'Ngh, what happened?'

'Rythian found you half-dead and about to get eaten by zombies,' Xephos answered, with a raised eyebrow. 'What were you doing?'

'...I sat down for a few minutes... guess I fell asleep.' Lalna rubbed his eyes. 'Notch, I feel AWFUL!'

'You'd better stay in bed,' Xephos advised.

'But-'

'Ah! No arguments,' said Rythian, cutting him short and earning a glare in response. 'Besides, I'll keep you company.'

'C'mon, give him some space! We've got Jaffas to make.' Honeydew ushered everyone out of the room, bar Rythian.

'There. Some privacy.' Rythian pulled up a chair and sat, leaning forward onto the bed. 'Now, Lalna. We need to talk.'

Lalna glared at Rythian. 'What is there to talk about?' he grunted, and turned over, not wanting to look at the mage for fear of blushing again and giving away his true feelings. He was a scientist; he was supposed to be certain of what he wanted. Lalna didn't like uncertainty.

Rythian sighed. 'Listen, I know... What happened last night... Well it wasn't an accident. I meant to do it.' He placed a hand on Lalna's shoulder. 'I know how you feel. I'm an Enderhuman and a mage. We... sense things. We know things about people that even they might not know about themselves.'

'Then how do I know you aren't screwing with my mind?' Lalna shot back, still not turning around.

'NOTCH! Why are you so damn stubborn?' Rythian hissed, glaring at the scientist. Lalna smirked.

'_I'm _stubborn?!' he laughed. '_I'M_ stubborn?! Good grief, Rythian, take a look in the mirror. You're the bloody _definition_ of stubborn!'

'Really?' the mage argued. 'Because last I remembered, I am the one who came back to apologize, not you. You did nothing.' He stood up, and turned to leave. 'But fine, if you're going to be like that, then I will leave. Who'd want to be around a stubborn git like you anyway?!' Rythian teleported out of the room, and Lalna relaxed slightly.

'Finally, some peace,' he mumbled to himself. Deep down, though, he knew that he had just been a prick, and he hated himself for it.

'Stupid fucking science,' Rythian muttered, kicking a rock. He had teleported out of the Factory, away from everyone and everything. 'Why do I even bother? It's not like he gives a crap.' He sat down, letting out a deep sigh. 'Arsehole.'

'Such language.' Xephos' voice came from the trees nearby. 'Where the heck have you been? We've looked everywhere.'

'Hah, really? Because I didn't think anyone actually cared.'

'What's wrong, Rythian?'

'Nothing.'

'Liar.'

'I'm not-'

'C'mon, let's go back... Come _on_!' Xephos pulled Rythian up and dragged him back to the Factory. 'Now, I want you to tell me the truth. What happened?'

'Well... It's... It's Lalna.'

'...And then we... we kissed... and I...' Rythian trailed off, not willing to look Xephos in the eyes. Xephos smiled sympathetically and put a hand on his shoulder.

'Listen, you've done nothing wrong. I know just as well as you do how Lalna can react to situations he isn't completely comfortable with. D'you want me to have a talk with him?'

Rythian shook his head. 'No, I think he'd probably kill me if he knew I'd told you...'

Xephos nodded. 'Okay. Well... all I can say is, talk to him. Tell him how you feel. That's the only way you can ever sort this out.'

'Okay... Thanks, Xephos. You've been... a good help.' Rythian smiled faintly and teleported off. Xephos sighed.

'Good luck, Rythian...'

Lalna stared up at the ceiling of the Jaffa Factory. Unable to sleep, his thoughts had drifted towards Rythian and what had happened the other night. He couldn't kid himself any longer. He'd always had a thing for the mage, something extra that he'd never felt for anyone else. He sighed. Why did he act like this? It was like he got all defensive, or something-

Rythian appeared in a puff of purple sparks, and strode towards Lalna.

'I don't care what you say, Lalna, but I love you, and that's final.' He bent over Lalna and kissed him full on the mouth, surprised when the scientist didn't resist, but rather, returned the kiss.

Lalna smiled and wrapped an arm around Rythian's neck, pulling him close to whisper in his ear.

'That's okay, Rythian, because I love you too.'


End file.
